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RAIDERS PLAY HOST TO THE WARRIORS
Lima will travel to
Clyde, Ohio to battle with the Northwest Ohio Raiders.
By Joel Renner
Lima Warriors Staff
Reporter
6/12/07
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LIMA, Ohio
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Lima turned
what was supposed to be the game of the season in the
United States Football Alliance into its own personal
showcase last week.
After their
dominating display against Akron, the undefeated
Warriors will have to guard against a letdown when
they travel to Clyde to meet the Northwest Ohio
Raiders on Saturday.
The first
meeting against Akron hardly lived up to its hype, as
the Warriors (2-0) dismantled Akron 28-0 last
Saturday, proving to the Jagz and the rest of the
league they deserve their place atop the rankings.
“This is the
game of all games for me because of it being against
my hometown and this most likely being my last year as
player of this great game,” defensive end Adam Gill
said.
Gill and
other Warriors have ties to the Raiders players and
the area. Gill resides in Fremont and is excited
about the upcoming game.
Lima’s
experienced defense—which hasn’t allowed a point in
two games—held Akron to 93 yards of total offense.
Warriors
quarterback Justin Henderson continued his stellar
play, throwing for 232 yards for a touchdown and
rushed for two touchdowns. Henderson has thrown for
444 yards and three touchdowns in his last two games,
which the offensive line has done a great job not
allowing intense pressure from either the Delphos or
Akron defense.
The
seven-year veteran is having fun this season and
comfortable with his wide receivers.
“I’m just
going out there and playing ball,” Henderson said.
“We’ve been playing together for a few years now and
we’ve added a couple more players and they haven’t
missed a beat.”
The
combination of the offensive line giving Henderson
time to throw and the receivers running great routes
to get open is bringing offensive success this
season. Joe Butcher and Porfirio Sutton were two of
the receivers that continued to get open and have a
big game against Akron.
Butcher
finished with five catches for 134 yards and a
touchdown, while Sutton caught two catches for 42
yard--both made catches on crucial plays. The
Warriors have won 12 out of their last 14 games,
dating back to June 3 of last year. Lima’s run
includes five wins in shutout fashion.
Coach
Parkins is aware of the bragging rights on the line in
the game this Saturday for the players that live close
to the Raiders organization.
“It’s going
to be fun for a lot of our guys,” Parkins said. “We
have about six players that actually live in the
Fremont and Tiffin area so they’re really excited
about this game.”
The Warriors
should be somewhat familiar with Northwest Ohio
(0-2). There’s plenty of connections between the
organizations in players and ownership.
Raiders
co-owner and player Johnny Alridge was the Warriors
wide receiver from 2004-05.
Wayne
LeGrant, Chris Brooks, Andrew Cleckley, Troy
Williamson and Adam Gill are a few of the players who
will have a short trip for the away game. This is the
first time the two teams have faced each other.
Northwest
Ohio plays at home for the second straight week after
losing two games. The Raiders fell to Motor City 12-6
two weeks ago before losing 26-12 to Butler County
last Saturday.
The Lima
players look to capitalize on the opportunity to
showcase their talents.
“I'm going
to have a lot of people in the stands for this game,”
Gill said. “For a lot of them, this will be their
only chance to see me play and find out what we are
all about.”
The Raiders
are in their second year of existence and are up
against a veteran squad not willing to let up for any
team.
The Raider’s
fans are planning on wearing purple jerseys for
Saturday’s game and the team website says “Lima has a
big fan base and will probably bring many of them to
the game”. The Raiders also posted the team goals for
the 2007 season and the last one is to “beat the Lima
Warriors”. Great goal, but hard task.
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